2010: Year of the Polar Bear?

snowleopard

snowleopard

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How about spending $106 million on polar bears? (plus other Arctic species and visitor amenities:))

There are 5 zoos in the United States opening new polar bear exhibits in 2010: Kansas City, Brookfield, Columbus, San Diego and Como. The San Diego and Como exhibits are renovated enclosures that have undergone expansions, while Kansas City, Brookfield and Columbus have all spent millions on brand new exhibits. Also, the Toronto Zoo just opened a new polar bear complex in August of 2009, and the Louisville Zoo is currently constructing a polar bear exhibit for 2011.

$10 million polar bear exhibit at the Kansas City Zoo:

The Kansas City Zoo

$27 million "Great Bear Wilderness" at the Brookfield Zoo:

Brookfield Zoo bears to get new digs - Chicago Tribune Archives

$20 million "Polar Frontier" at the Columbus Zoo:

New zoo habitat will bear all - Business First of Columbus:

$14 million polar bear exhibit at the Como Zoo:

KSTP TV - Minneapolis and St. Paul - State money helps Como Zoo, polar bears

$10 million "Arctic Tundra" at the Toronto Zoo:

Returning polar bear orphans get fancier digs - thestar.com

$25 million "Glacier Run" at the Louisville Zoo:

Glacier Run at the Louisville Zoo

"Polar Bear Plunge" at the San Diego Zoo:

Polar Bear Plunge
 
Two zoo's will also be debuting there 2009 born polar cubs soon (Toledo and St Felicien) plus Toronto's polar bears have been seen breeding alot during the winter
 
Pretty exciting. Are there plans online for the KC, Como, and Columbus exhibits? A more detailed layout of the Louisville exhibit?
 
Great news .. many zoos have stopped keeping Polar Bears its great to see new enclosures (and decent ones being built).

And does someone knows how the breeding of this spp managed? I'm having the impression that in 10 years, there will be a diying population
 
@Amnesiac: Louisville Zoo is already on the list, in the first posting on this thread. "Glacier Run" will surely be one of the more expensive polar bear exhibits created in any North American zoo.
 
These exhibits had better be something special. It seems like many of them (Columbus, Brookfield, Louisville) have been in the works forever. The one thing they all have in common is that they all seem to be perpetually delayed. I'm almost over the year of the polar bear before it's even upon us. I've seen AROL in Detroit. Are any of these even going to come close?
 
groundskeeper24 said:
These exhibits had better be something special. It seems like many of them (Columbus, Brookfield, Louisville) have been in the works forever. The one thing they all have in common is that they all seem to be perpetually delayed. I'm almost over the year of the polar bear before it's even upon us. I've seen AROL in Detroit. Are any of these even going to come close?
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I've seen plans for all of the delayed projects, and none of them seem even close to AROL. Columbus's will be large, but lacks innovation and quality. Brookfield and Louisville seem like they incorporate some interesting details, but are relatively small.
 
reduakari said:
I've seen plans for all of the delayed projects, and none of them seem even close to AROL. Columbus's will be large, but lacks innovation and quality. Brookfield and Louisville seem like they incorporate some interesting details, but are relatively small.
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I'll withhold judgement until I actually see them. I should see Columbus and Louisville(although I don't think Louisville's acutal polar bear section of the project will open for another year or so, our state budget in KY is shambolic) soon enough. I just don't get why we have top-quality bear exhibits like Woodland Park's brown bear enclosure and Detroit's AROL as possible templates for these zoos, yet the apparent results of their new exhibits already have relatively low expectations when compared to them. Zoos across the Atlantic also seem to have some very nice digs for their ursids.

I guess what I'm wondering is, why are we moving backwards as opposed to ahead? These displays are improvements for their respective institutions, no doubt. Why though, is there no competition between them to have something better? I guess there just aren't that many zoo nuts like us that run around the country seeing zoos as a priority that can make the comparison.
 
Well I think financial and space restrainsts play into it. Not all zoo's can spend a ton of money on an exhibit. But perhaps more importantly, different zoos have different priorities in terms of designing exhibits. Some may feel an exhibit that you or I aren't that fond of is better than one we love.
 
groundskeeper24 said:
I guess what I'm wondering is, why are we moving backwards as opposed to ahead? These displays are improvements for their respective institutions, no doubt. Why though, is there no competition between them to have something better? I guess there just aren't that many zoo nuts like us that run around the country seeing zoos as a priority that can make the comparison.
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In my opinion, I think one of the biggest problems for polar bear exhibits is popularity. Arguably one of the most popular animals at any zoo, few zoos can afford to take the animal off exhibit to build a better world for them. Few also have the space in their budget to spend what they'd need to in order to make a great exhibit.

Along with that is the visitor v. animal problem. Many popular zoos have piss poor exhibits for the polar bear from the animals standpoint. But from the visitor standpoint? Psh, there's always a great glass window to see the polar bear at any given point--even if it's sleeping. Two exhibits I like that I know others dislike are the polar bear exhibits at Cincy and the Central Park Zoo. While neither holds a torch to Detroit, they're great for the visitors with above and below water views.

Another problem, again...IMO...is that whether good or bad....a new exhibit if a financial windfall for a zoo. Launch an exhibit and they will come. I fear zoos are more than aware of this and sometimes look to get people in the door rather than producing jaw dropping exhibits. I feel like WCS institutions and others are the few standouts. I know, I know...NYC zoo fangirl here and all but...one thing WCS does is plan. And plan. And plan. I've been hearing about a CPZ snow leopard exhibit since I graduated high school. It just became a reality. Been hearing for years about adding an exhibit to the Queens Zoo too. It's for this reason, I'm hoping Columbus is a winner because...gosh, I'm not too big a fan of any of their exhibits outside the elephants and parts of North America.
 
I wondered if the new exhibits are being built to the Manitoba Standards? I'd heard some of the zoos doing new exhibits decided not to go that route.
 
When I began this thread in February I listed 7 zoos that were either opening brand new polar bear exhibits or renovating older ones. Just within the past couple of months Como, Brookfield and Columbus opened new habitats, and Kansas City will have a solitary bear in their new exhibit within weeks. That leaves only a single zoo on the list that hasn't opened their proposed polar bear exhibit, and Louisville debuts "Glacier Run" in summer 2011. The bad news is that it doesn't seem as if any of the new exhibits are going to be worthy of being hailed as world class, and nothing seems to be on the same level as Detroit Zoo's superb "Arctic Ring of Life".
 
Which leaves which zoos that really need to upgrade their polar bear facilities?
 
kiang said:
Which leaves which zoos that really need to upgrade their polar bear facilities?
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A certain zoo in south Arizona, but you didn't hear that from me ;).



It is interesting that U.S. zoos seem to go in cycles, where everyone does a similar kind of popular exhibit more or less at the same time. Many years ago it was gorillas, then a few years ago it was glass hippo pools, now it is polar bears. And of course we are in the midst of (much needed) elephant expansions, although that is a bit different because it is a nationwide effort spearheaded by the AZA.

Any exhibit that improves both animal and visitor experience I am all for, but I applaud zoos that do something really innovative instead of the same thing other zoos are doing. I was trying to think of an example to put here, but can't (except perhaps "Life On The Rocks" at Arizona Sonora Desert Museum).
 
Sadly the case. I was quite disappointed by Columbus and hoping for so much more. The brown bear areas are actually rather nice though.

I look forward to the day Bronx renovates (or just plain knocks down...) their horrific grotto.
 
Arizona Docent said:
A certain zoo in south Arizona, but you didn't hear that from me ;).



It is interesting that U.S. zoos seem to go in cycles, where everyone does a similar kind of popular exhibit more or less at the same time. Many years ago it was gorillas, then a few years ago it was glass hippo pools, now it is polar bears. And of course we are in the midst of (much needed) elephant expansions, although that is a bit different because it is a nationwide effort spearheaded by the AZA.

Any exhibit that improves both animal and visitor experience I am all for, but I applaud zoos that do something really innovative instead of the same thing other zoos are doing. I was trying to think of an example to put here, but can't (except perhaps "Life On The Rocks" at Arizona Sonora Desert Museum).
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Well, "Elephant Odyssey" was certainly an attempt to do something very different (though it appears largely to have failed to deliver). Bronx and Omaha opening major Madagascar exhibits is certainly innovative. Minnesota opened an exhibit featuring the wildlife of the Russian Far East, a pretty unique effort. And certainly Dallas, while featuring some generally "basic" species, seems to be trying some new things with "Giants of the Savanna." "New age" reptile complexes in Ft. Worth and LA (plus the excellent "Life on the Rocks") are also of interest--the last "boom" in reptile buildings was way back in the 1960s.

But there sure are a lot of "fads" out there. In addition to those you mention, there have been butterfly tents, lorikeet aviaries, giraffe feeding stations, meerkats, stingray touch tanks and penguins popping up as far as the eye can see on the US zoo landscape.....
 
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